Schools in Canadian province evacuated due to security threat

ByREUTERS

September 21, 2016 19:09

CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island - All schools in the small Canadian province of Prince Edward Island were evacuated because of a "potential threat" on Wednesday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

The police said the students were being taken to safe locations in their communities around the island, which is off Canada's Atlantic coast and is the country's smallest province with a population of approximately 146,000.

There are about 19,000 students in PEI's schools, according to the Public Schools Branch website. CBC television showed a long line of children being escorted down a street.

"We're on the phone working with drivers and schools," said an employee at the Public Schools Branch who did not provide her name. It was not immediately clear whether the evacuation was complete.

The University of Prince Edward Island said it was closed for the day, "given the situation happening across the province."

Police in the nearby province of Nova Scotia also closed some college and university campuses. A Nova Scotia Community College campus in Halifax was evacuated after an anonymous threat, Halifax Regional Police said in a press release.

It said an explosive disposal unit went to the scene but found that a suspicious package was only garbage and reopened streets in the area.

The college's Marconi campus in Sydney, Nova Scotia also shut down. Local media reported there had been a bomb threat. Cape Breton University, also in Sydney, said on its website that it was closing.

There was no immediate indication that the threats in PEI and Nova Scotia were related.